Chapter 3: A Visual Vocabulary for DrawingSeeing in Three Dimensions ......................................................................................
The ability to see in three dimensions is fairly near the top of the list of requirements for
the animator, assistant animator, and the in-betweener. Most of us come by this
knowledge only after years of observation and practice. The more I've thought about it,
the more I've come to believe the rules of perspective ought to be called the "all
encompassing principles of drawing." I never make a drawing without being conscious of
them, and when I am having trouble with a drawing, I delve into those rules and they are
a sure help.
As artists we see through eyes that constantly search for shape, gesture, color, contrast,
and so on. When we draw from the model (or from life in general) we have a tendency to
feature shape. A thing is either round or oblong or rectangular or some combination of
each. These in turn create the two-dimensional negative space that forms a relationship
between one or more objects or parts of one object. It requires an extra nudge of
observation to see things as three-dimensional, and two extra nudges to translate that
third dimension onto a two-dimensional surface. Since we see things as basic shapes, we
must think of the shapes as being three-dimensional.
For instance a rectangle is as flat as the paper it is drawn on.
But add the rule diminishing size and we get a somewhat 3D shape.
Add some bulk to that shape and the 3D feeling (or illusion) is augmented.